Refrigerator And/Or Freezer Device

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer with at least one body and with at least one cooled interior space arranged in the body, wherein the appliance includes at least one refrigerant circuit that serves for cooling the interior space, wherein the refrigerant circuit includes at least one condenser, wherein at least one heat pipe is provided that is in direct or indirect thermal contact with the condenser and that is arranged such that it forms at least a part of a frame heater of the appliance and/or is in thermal contact with the outer skin of the appliance.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer with atleast one body and with at least one cooled interior space arranged inthe body, wherein the appliance includes at least one refrigerantcircuit that serves for cooling the interior space, wherein therefrigerant circuit includes at least one condenser.

From the prior art, such refrigerators or freezers are known in numerousdifferent embodiments.

In the condenser the condensation of the refrigerant is effected, duringwhich heat is released.

In known appliances, this heat usually is released to the environmentvia free or enforced convection.

It is the object underlying the present invention to develop arefrigerator or freezer as mentioned above to the effect that thecondenser waste heat is used efficiently. This object is solved by arefrigerator and/or freezer with the features of claim 1.

Accordingly, it is provided that at least one heat pipe is provided,which is in direct or in indirect thermal contact with the condenser andis arranged such that the same forms at least a part of the frame heaterof the appliance and/or is in thermal contact with the outer skin of theappliance.

The present invention thus uses the heat obtained in the vicinity of thecondenser, namely for operating a frame heater and/or for heating atleast a part of the outer shell of the appliance according to theinvention.

A frame heater is understood to be a heater that heats a certain part ofthe body of the appliance, namely the region directed towards theclosure element and surrounding the open side of the body.

This frame heater can be designed circumferentially or also surround theopening only in part, for example in a U-shaped manner, and has thepurpose to prevent icing of the appliance in the vicinity of the openingand hence in the vicinity of the closure element, such as for example ofa door, flap or drawer.

Heating the outer skin of the appliance has the advantage that anundesired formation of condensate on the outer skin of the appliance isprevented. Preferably, the heating of the outer skin thus is configuredsuch that the temperature of the outer skin is kept above the dew pointof water.

The present invention allows to expediently use the waste heat obtainedat the condenser anyway and to not simply pass the same into theenvironment of the appliance. In one or both of said alternatives, thisuse consists in the form of the frame heater or the heating of the outerskin of the appliance.

The heat pipe can be filled with water or also with a water-containingsolution as heat transport medium. Such heat pipe or such heat tube isbased on the principle that on one side of the heat pipe an evaporationof a heat transport medium occurs and at another point and preferably inthe other end region of the heat pipe the condensation occurs. As aresult, heat is supplied to the heat pipe in one region and in the otherregion, in which the condensation takes place, heat is released from theheat pipe. According to the invention, this heat quantity released nowcan be used to form a frame heater or to heat the outer skin of theappliance.

A separate frame heater, which for example forms part of a refrigerantcircuit, thus can be omitted according to the invention just like aseparate heating of the outer skin, for example by a heating foil.

Instead of water or a water-containing medium any other heat transportmedia can be taken into consideration, by means of which the heat pipeis filled.

In a further aspect of the invention it is provided that the heat pipeis configured as a gravitational heat pipe.

This means that the backflow of the heat transport medium in the regionin which the evaporation is carried out is effected by gravity and notby other effects, such as for example a capillary effect. Preferably,the heat pipe thus has no capillaries for the transport of the heattransport medium.

In a further aspect of the invention it is provided that the condensercommunicates with a least one heat accumulator and preferably isarranged in a liquid bath, in particular in a water bath.

This embodiment of the invention makes use of the fact that the thermalenergy of the heat accumulator, which is charged with heat by thecondenser, can be used in order to operate the heat pipe and thus conveythe heat to another point of the appliance.

The condenser can be arranged for example in the heat accumulator, suchas for example in a liquid bath, or also communicate with a heataccumulator in some other way. Thus, the present invention not onlyrelates to the case that the at least one heat pipe is in thermalcontact with the condenser, but also to the case that the at least oneheat pipe is in thermal contact with the heat accumulator, which in turnis in thermal contact with the condenser.

Moreover, it is not absolutely necessary that the heat pipe is in directcontact with the outer skin. It is sufficient when a thermal connectionbetween the outer skin of the appliance is present to such an extentthat a condensation on the outer skin can reliably be prevented.

In a further aspect of the invention exactly one heat pipe is arranged.The appliance can also include a plurality of heat pipes which directlyor indirectly are in thermal contact with the condenser or with the heataccumulator of the condenser.

Furthermore, it can be provided that by means of the at least one heatpipe a large part of the heat quantity obtained in the condenser isdissipated. It is conceivable for example that more than 50% andpreferably more than 80% of the heat quantities obtained in thecondenser are dissipated by means of the at least one heat pipe.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained indetail with reference to an exemplary embodiment described below.

The exemplary embodiment relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer with afull vacuum insulation. This is understood to be an insulation in whichthe body consists of a coherent vacuum insulation space at least with90% of the insulation surface. The vacuum insulation space includes atleast one vacuum insulation body, which preferably includes a film bagthat serves as a casing of the vacuum insulation body and in which acore material such as for example pearlite is disposed. The film bag iswelded in a vacuum-tight manner and has a vacuum in its interior, sothat the heat transport correspondingly is made difficult.

Typically, the envelope of the film bag is a diffusion-tight casing bymeans of which the gas input in the film bag is reduced so much that thegas-input-related rise in the thermal conductivity of the vacuuminsulation body obtained is sufficiently low over its service life.

Service life for example is understood to be a period of 15 years,preferably of 20 years, and particularly preferably of 30 years.Preferably, the rise in the thermal conductivity of the vacuuminsulation body due to the input of gas during its service life is <100%and particularly preferably <50%.

Preferably, the area-specific gas permeation rate of the casing is <10⁻⁵mbar*l/s*m² and particularly preferably <10⁻⁶ mbar*l/s*m² (as measuredaccording to ASTM D-3985). This gas permeation rate applies for nitrogenand oxygen. For other types of gas (in particular steam) low gaspermeation rates, preferably in the range of <10⁻² mbar*l/s*m² andparticularly preferably in the range of <10⁻³ mbar*l/s*m² (as measuredaccording to ASTM F-1249-90) likewise do exist. Preferably, theaforementioned small rises in thermal conductivity are achieved by theselow gas permeation rates.

The above-mentioned values are exemplary, preferred indications that donot limit the invention.

The vacuum insulation body can be arranged in the body and/or in theclosure element by means of which the body can be closed.

The present invention is, however, not limited to such full-vacuumrefrigerators or freezers.

The invention also comprises the case that a conventional heatinsulation is present, for example in the form of PU foam.

The refrigerator or freezer according to the invention includes arefrigerant circuit that comprises at least one compressor, at least onecondenser downstream of the same, at least one throttle, in particularcapillary, downstream of the same, and at least one evaporator intowhich the refrigerant leaving the capillary enters.

After traversing the evaporator, the refrigerant gets back to thecompressor via a suction line.

The evaporator absorbs heat from the cooled interior space, in whichprocess the refrigerant evaporates. The condenser serves for thecondensation of the refrigerant, in which process heat is obtained.According to the exemplary embodiment, the condenser is disposed in aheat accumulator, such as in a water bath. In operation of therefrigerant circuit, i.e. in operation of the compressor, at least apart of the heat quantity obtained in the condenser is transferred tothis heat accumulator.

The heat accumulator communicates with one or more heat tubes, i.e. heatpipes. The same are filled with water and configured such that inoperation of the refrigerant circuit the heat transport medium presenttherein evaporates within the heat pipe. At its other end region, theheat pipe communicates with the outer skin, which preferably isconfigured as a sheet metal casing. In this region of the heat pipe thecondensation of the heat transport medium is effected, in which processheat is released, which is transferred to the outer skin of theappliance. Furthermore, a heat pipe extends from the condenser or fromsaid heat accumulator to a frame heater of the appliance, which extendsaround the open side of the body of the appliance and which serves forheating the door stop surface. Thus, this heat pipe also effects aheating of a particular region of the appliance and in this case servesas a frame heater.

The condenser waste heat is used expediently by the present invention,whereby the use of separate heaters correspondingly can be omitted.Neither a separate frame heater is necessary nor a separate heatingdevice for heating the outer skin for the purpose of avoidingcondensate.

The heat pipes can transport the heat to a larger region of the outerskin or into the region of said frame in order to be able to selectivelyperform a heating there.

1. A refrigerator and/or freezer with at least one body and with atleast one cooled interior space arranged in the body, wherein theappliance includes at least one refrigerant circuit that serves forcooling the interior space, wherein the refrigerant circuit includes atleast one condenser, characterized in that at least one heat pipe isprovided, which is in direct or indirect thermal contact with thecondenser and which is arranged such that the same forms at least a partof the frame heater of the appliance and/or is in thermal contact withthe outer skin of the appliance.
 2. The refrigerator and/or freezeraccording to claim 1, characterized in that the heat pipe is filled withwater or with a water-containing solution as heat transport medium. 3.The refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1, characterized inthat the heat pipe is configured as a gravitational heat pipe.
 4. Therefrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe condenser communicates with at least one heat accumulator.
 5. Therefrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 4, characterized in thatthe at least one heat pipe is in thermal contact with the heataccumulator.
 6. The refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1,characterized in that exactly one or a plurality of heat pipes areprovided, which are in thermal contact with the condenser.
 7. Therefrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe at least one heat pipe is configured such that more than 50% of theheat quantity obtained at the condenser are dissipated by means of theat least one heat pipe.
 8. The refrigerator and/or freezer according toclaim 1, characterized in that the condenser communicates with at leastone heat accumulator and is arranged in a liquid bath.
 9. Therefrigerator and/or freezer of claim 8, wherein said liquid bath is awater bath.
 10. The refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1,characterized in that the at least one heat pipe is configured such thatmore than 80% of the heat quantity obtained at the condenser aredissipated by means of the at least one heat pipe.